After the War
by liobi
Summary: The war with the Fire Nation has ended in the favorably. And now seventeen years have passed and the new avatar has been found.Just one problem, Aang's not dead yet! And now with the threat of a power hungry group, they have problems. taang zutara


Disclaimer: I do not own avatar the last air bender, Nickelodeon does, lights, camera action!!

Prologue.

The day was bright and sunny as the lights sifted through the sakura trees and the petals drifted through the gentle breeze. It was a perfect day for a wedding, or maybe even two.

In her dressing room, Katara smiled. Today was the day she had been waiting for, for three months. She thought back to when the war had started to end and smiled again, today she was finally getting married. She could hear Aang and Toph outside rushing around with the final preparations for this special day for four of their friends. As she heard the cheery air bender's voice she thought of when he had confessed.

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"_Katara, I was wondering," the once bald boy said, as a slight blush started creeping up his face and neck. "um, do you see me as more than a friend?"_

_The question had stopped her cold as she was about to put the fire lilies that a certain scarred someone had sent her. It was the one question that she had never hoped to answer. "Aang, yes I do see you as more than a friend, just not in the romantic way." she told him calm on the outside, but in torment and confusion on the inside. As the old feelings started to creep up, she shook them away. She was about to be engaged, it was no time for this. "Aang, I've come to see you as a little brother, you're like family to me." Nothing betrayed on the avatar's face as those words came out of her shaking mouth. _

"_Is that all you see me as?" he asked, no emotion seeped through his voice as he said these words. Katara nodded sadly. "Thank you for telling me the truth, Katara." Aang said as he forced a small smile onto his face, before he turned and walked out into the cold night on the river city._

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A shout of laughter woke Katara from her daydreaming. Ty Lee had curled herself into a ball and Aang had started air bending, making the next bride-to-be fly in the air. Sokka had started screaming at Aang to put his fiancée down and Toph just stood close to Aang, as if she thought that if she moved, the whole thing would become a dream and fade away. She then saw Zuko and smiled at her future husband and restarted herself to get ready for the wedding that would take place soon.

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"Aang! Put her down now!!" Sokka screamed as he saw his ball-shaped fiancée was tossed into the air again and again by gusts of air. "We both need to get ready for our wedding, it's right after Katara and the angry jerks'!"

Aang grinned, but when he saw how serious his friend was, he complied. Ty Lee laughed and unrolled herself and then fell in a heap because she was so dizzy. "And you call Zuko an angry jerk?" Toph asked with a grin in her voice, "Um, Sokka, I don't think that you have any ground to say that right now."

It was true. He had been yelling at every one that morning. He yelled at Jet for being late as the best man for his sisters wedding. He yelled at Aang and Toph for not doing something. He had even yelled at Iroh for making the wrong kind of tea for the guests. All while Zuko had not complained once, and had just been meditating quietly in the corner of the garden for the entire morning.

Sokka, seeing that he was fighting a loosing battle, decided to take out his stress issues on someone else. "Zuko! Quit being lazy and do something productive!" The prince cracked one eye open to see what was going on, and then closed it up again when he saw.

"What I am doing is more productive than your yelling is. I am calming my mind and spirit for the task ahead, in peasant terms, I'm rehearsing my vows." he spoke in a calm manner almost as if he was bored with the chain of events that was happening. Sokka, being peeved at being call a simpleton and a peasant (A/N: which we all know he is: ) decided to take out his now increased frustrations on the poor avatar. "Aang, go out and buy some more hot cakes! Now!"

With all the noise that was occurring Zuko found it hard to get back into the peaceful state that he had been only moments before. And Aang, having no idea where the market was and making no effort to hide it, didn't help either. "Fine! I'll help go buy the stupid hot cakes! Come on, Aang!" he shouted as he began to storm off in the direction of the small town that the villa overlooked.

Toph waved goodbye to the two leaving boys, as she heard Aang say, "you fell asleep, didn't you?" Zuko sounded surprised as he replied, "how did you know?" Aang the snickered as he said, "Toph pointed out that you were snoring." judging by the increase in Zuko's heartbeat, Toph could tell that he had started to blush. "Yeah, well, I memorized the vows last night, so why shouldn't I? Aang snickered, "just don't let Sokka know."

"Oh! Hang on, I forgot something!" Aang said hurriedly as he disappeared from Toph's sight. She blushed as the next thing she felt was Aang's lips brushing hers in a tender caress. "Dammit, twinkle toes! How many time have I told you not to do that without telling me first!" she shouted as soon as the embrace broke off. "you know that's why I do it." Aang said mischievously as he turned around and began to walk off with Zuko.

She thought back to when she and Aang had first started dating, and smiled at the bittersweet memory.

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"_You think you can dare refuse me, the leader of an entire gang, when you're just some helpless blind girl?" the voice sneered cruelly as a chubby hand gripped her arm. "well I guess you thought wrong!" _

_Gross, the rag in my mouth tastes disgusting! why were they on a wooden floating city when she needed earth? Even metal would do! Cry, scream, beg for a second chance, blah, blah, blah. When would they get here anyways? _

"_I guess you're just going to have done something to offend the river spirit, because you're going to disappear just like all those other girls that refused me!" wait, that wasn't supposed to be said. Okay, Aang, guys, anytime now! _

"_They all thought that they could just walk away because they wanted to, well, they know better now!" speaking of now, it would be a really nice time to show up! "and since my parents are the mayors of the town, I wont get in trouble!" a laugh filled with hysteria filled the air of the ally that Toph was, and she shivered in terror at the insanity of the boy that had a hold of her arm._

"_Tie her up and throw her in the river!" the one that was holding her arm said. "I don't know, don't you think that this has gone on for long enough?" one of the other boys said. Toph heard a pop and felt a flash of heat go passed her as something fell to the ground. "And get rid of that corpse too, I don't want it to stink here." _

_The realization of what had just happened hit Toph full force, someone had spoken out against the chubby boy and he had killed them, easily with his fire bending. She then felt her hands being roughly tied behind her back as someone whispered, "I'm sorry." _

_As those words were spoken, she felt the gag go slack in her mouth. The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by thousands of gallons of rushing water. She spit the gag out as soon as possible and struggled to get her head above water. As soon as she did, she screamed with all her might for help from someone. _

_Then, there was a splash about fifteen feet away from her, thinking that it was the corpse of the dead boy she leaned away from the sound, which ended up saving her life from some unusually sharp rocks that had been sticking out a few inches above the water._

_As she began to go under the water, her mind became strangely calm. She regretted that she couldn't have spent more time with her friends, or at least told them goodbye. As she was about to black out, she felt a pair of strong arms grab around her waist and pull her up to the surface and towards shore._

"_Are you okay?" a familiar voice asked her, "are you hurt at all?" Toph looked up out of the water toward the direction the voice was coming from. "yeah, I'm okay, twinkle toes." soon after, Toph was wrapped in a thick blanket, and a roaring fire was going. Toph could feel that Aang was cold, even though he tried to hide it from her. _

"_Hey, Aang, if you want you could come share the blanket with me. There's more than enough, and we'll get warmer faster with the body heat." she said impassively but on the inside she didn't know what to feel. "Are you sure?" Aang asked, uncertain. But Toph nodded her head. "Okay." he said as he made his way over to her side of the fire. Pretty soon they were both rapped snugly in the blanket. Aang felt another shiver go through Toph, as he looked over to her he said, "Are you sure you're alright?" that was all it took. Suddenly Toph was crying, her face pressed against Aang's neck and shoulder area, sobs racking through her body. He stiffened but the relaxed before he pulled Toph into the most secure hug she had ever felt in her life. Now it was her turn to stiffen. Aang noticed and asked if she wanted him to stop, and through tear and sobs, Toph asked him just to hold her as the star filled night continued._

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Toph smiled as her adopted brother tried with no success to get her energetic boyfriend to calm down. Iroh had adopted her, Zuko, and Azula when their parents had died someway or another. Hers from the attack on the Earth Kingdom, and theirs when Ozai tried and failed to control the power of Souzen's(sp?) comet and it burnt him to a crisp.

She was very thankful for all that they had done for her, and she hoped that someday that she could return the favor.

**A few hours later**

The wedding had gone beautifully. Katara, in her mother's wedding gown, had been escorted down the steps by her father, Sokka had been ring bearer, Aang was the caterer, Toph had been maid of honor, although pissed at wearing a dress, they had even convinced Azula to be the flower girl! And Iroh had done the vows.

"Katara, will you accept Zuko through flames and death, through trails and hardship, promise to stay by him and support him in whatever way you can, and accept him with his angry rough edges and all?" Katara smiled, "I do." The last comment in the vows had earned him a glare from his nephew, but he continued anyways.

"And do you, Zuko, accept Katara, through storms and darkness, through tribulation and bondage, promise to protect her even at the cost of your life, an accept her with her nagging edges and everything?" that comment had actually gotten a outburst from Katara, "Hey! I don't nag!" she shouted as the audience began to laugh. Zuko, ignoring the outburst, replied, "I do."

Iroh smiled, "If there anyone who has a reason that these two opposites should not be joined, please stand and speak now so that we can throw you off this ocean side cliff, that these people have so kindly provided us with, before you wreak the wedding." All of Katara's old boyfriends(A/N: minus Aang) who had somehow gotten into the wedding and were about to stand up were quickly reseated. "then," Iroh said, after a pause, "I declare you man and wife."

Well, I'm done with the prologue so please R & R and tell me what you think of it. Um, don't really have much to say but, this story takes place seventeen years after the war with the Fire Nation ended and the earth is at peace now, 'cept for the fact The Hellfire Cult is waging war on all nations and a new avatar is living in the south pole with another familiar face, and Aang's not even dead yet! The couples are going to be: Zuko & Katara, Aang & Toph, Sokka & Ty Lee, Jet & Mai, Azula-none, but she did end up getting pregnant once though, and a whole buncha other stuff, see you guys later!


End file.
